By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian Emeritus
America has a long tradition of citizen soldiers who would organize to protect the community. This goes back to the Pilgrims at Plymouth and the Revolutionary War Minutemen at Lexington and Concord. It became official when the Militia Act of 1792 was passed by Congress. However, militia troops were generally regarded as poor soldiers – they were constantly defeated in Northwest Indian War of 1785-1795 until Anthony Wayne created the Legion of the United States. Despite this, they continued to be used in times of war. A militia group called the Indiana Rangers had a skirmish with Native Americans in 1813 in the area that would become Hamilton County.
The first Indiana militia law was passed in 1818. An updated militia law was passed by the state legislature in 1831. It said that all white males between the ages of 18 and 45 were expected to join. Generally, the groups were organized geographically, and these soldiers were called the “district militia”. Companies were based on townships, regiments were based on counties, and brigades were groups of counties. Hamilton County was in the 17th Brigade of the Sixth Division. There was also the “independent militia” which was for companies organized around a specialty such as cavalry or artillery. Companies were to have between 40 and 100 troops and were ordered to muster once a year in April.
Participating in a militia muster was viewed as a civic responsibility, much like jury duty. However, also like jury duty, it was regarded by some people as an imposition and was avoided or ignored. There were many exemptions. Locally, the most notable exemptions were the pacifist Quakers in Westfield. By 1839, there were challenges and requests in the state legislature for changes to the law.
Militia notice in The Little Western issued February 3, 1844
There is not much information for this area until 1844 when notices began appearing in the local weekly paper, the Little Western. These started on January 20 and ran until March 2, saying that the Hamilton County militia is to be “organized under the present militia law” by order of the Colonel.
The Hamilton County unit was the 65th Regiment of Indiana Militia, under the command of Colonel Francis B. Cogswell. Cogswell was an interesting choice for leader. He had been born in Canada in 1800, grew up and married there, and moved to Noblesville sometime around 1824. He ran a tannery on the site of the present County Judicial Center, which was the first industry in Noblesville. Cogswell also served in the legislature and introduced a bill to create the “Hamilton Guards” in February 1840. He was probably the prime mover of 1844 militia effort.
A mocking letter signed by “Phantom” appeared in the paper on January 27 accusing the Colonel of neglecting his duty before this time. This got a response from a local Quaker and from a member of the militia. They claimed the “Phantom” was a local doctor who was angry about being passed over for the position of Regimental Surgeon. Phantom answered by accusing the colonel of having others fight for him, but, in the end, the letter writer declared defeat and called himself “Phantom’s Ghost”. “Phantom” was jokingly nominated as captain for the Noblesville Township company on February 24.
Poem published in The Little Western issued March 9, 1844
An article in March about the militia was titled “Hoosier Blues”. It reported (in a somewhat hyperbolic style) that a meeting had been held to establish at least one company. The article then ended with a poem:
Arouse ye! Arouse ye to action and glory,
March old and young with your matchlock and brand,
Come awake! that your names may long live in story,
Oh haste ye, and join ye the brave Hoosier band.
The muster was supposed to happen in April but possibly didn’t as another call-up was made for May 25th. The organized units were listed in an article on June 1st. They were:
- The Hamilton Light Horse Company commanded by Captain Carah W. Harrison. He was the minister of the Christian Church and had recently been elected Sheriff. They were officially organized on May 28.
- The Independent Greys commanded by Captain William Garver. He was lawyer who had moved to town in 1841. He eventually became a judge and was an officer in the Civil War. They were officially organized on March 8.
- The Fall Creek Township Company commanded by Captain Alexander. It’s not clear if David or Jacob Alexander was the leader. They were brothers a year apart in age and were both farmers in Fall Creek Township.
- The Wayne Township Company commanded by Captain Phillip Karr, a local farmer.
- The Noblesville Township Company didn’t even manage to muster. They were nicknamed “The Square-Toes”’, which was slang for either a Quaker or someone with out of fashion tastes.
- Another Hamilton Country group was listed in the 1844 report of the Indiana Adjutant General, and was called the “Aberbeen Rifles”. This was possibly a misprint for “Aberdeen Rifles”. Aberdeen was an unsuccessful settlement in the western part of Adams Township. The company was officially organized on June 10, but they are mentioned nowhere else and may have never actually mustered.
Fourth of July procession listed in The Little Western issued June 29, 1844
These companies were organized to march in the Fourth of July parade, which may have been the full extent of their service. Nothing has been found about them after that, except for being mentioned in the Indiana Adjutant General’s report made in November of 1844. In the 1845 Adjutant General’s report, the state Quartermaster General said, “…companies spring up, organize, and call for arms. They parade a few times and then disband…” That was probably the case here.
Later militia activity was sporadic. The Indiana Legion was formed in 1861 in response to the start of the Civil War, and there were several companies from Hamilton County. However, these companies lost men when federally-organized regiments started being formed. The Legion was used as a Home Guard against invasions such as Morgan’s Raid. It appears in newspaper articles after the war but usually connected with veterans’ activities.
In 1875, the Noblesville Guards were issued 40 breech-loading Springfield rifles by the state Adjutant General, but nothing else is known about them. A second version of the Hamilton Guards was organized in 1878 but apparently did nothing. The various units around the state were renamed the Indiana National Guard in 1895, and the national Militia Act of 1903 created the present system. That was the end of Hamilton County’s attempts to create an army.